Incredulous
by Lufia1
Summary: Trowa is depressed about Quatre and Catherine's upcoming wedding, and finds an unlikely confidant in a coffee shop.


Incredulous, by Lufia  
  
Author's Note: Gundam Wing and it's characters do not belong to me. I am just   
borrowing them for a while. The story takes place some time after "Endless Waltz."  
  
  
A young man sat alone in the corner of the bustling coffee shop, idly moving the   
plastic stirrer around in his mug of irish crème in lazy circles. His green eyes stared   
off into the distance, unfocused and slightly glazed over. He was bored. No, more   
than that, he was depressed. And, he was depressed for what he considered to be a   
very dumb reason.  
  
"We're getting married!" his bubbly sister had told him two weeks earlier. "Isn't it   
great?"  
  
He blinked, staring at the brunette like she had just said that she was growing an   
extra limb. "Married?" he repeated, dumbfounded.  
  
Her silver eyes sparkled as she nodded, her curls bouncing around her cheeks. "In   
three weeks. I know it's really sudden, but we didn't want to wait. And Quatre can   
arrange for everything quickly enough, so it won't really be a problem. Oh God, I'm   
so excited!"  
  
"Married?" he repeated dumbly.  
  
She giggled. "Are you okay, Trowa? I mean, seriously okay?" Her voice became   
more steady. "I don't want you to think I'm stealing away your best friend, or   
anything. If you don't think it's a good idea, we'll put it off for a while."  
  
"No, it's fine, Cathy. Really."  
  
She beamed, her smile spreading the full width of her heart-shaped face. "Oh,   
Trowa!" She wrapped her arms around him tightly, planting a kiss on his forehead.   
"Then would you give me away at the wedding? I know Quatre wants you to be his   
best man, but you're my only family, and I really don't want anyone but you   
standing in for Dad, so…."  
  
"Of course," he replied automatically, plastering a smile on his face.  
  
She had squealed, hugged him again, then run off to help with plans for the   
ceremony, leaving Trowa alone in the circus trailer, staring blankly after her, the   
faintest hint of a tear forming in his eye.  
  
He sighed, his breath causing little ripples on the surface of his coffee. The wedding   
was next week. His sister would become Catherine Winner, no longer Catherine   
Bloom, and would end up living with his best friend on L4, far away from the circus   
where the two of them had found each other again some years earlier. Trowa would   
again be left alone.  
  
Alone. That was the problem. All of his friends had someone, all but him. Heero   
had been married to Relena Peacecraft for nearly a year now, and seemed happier   
than any of them had thought it was possible for the stoic young man to be. He   
wasn't too comfortable with bureaucratic duties that came with being the husband of   
the Vice Foreign Minister to the Colonies, but he handled it with the typical   
determination he gave to all his missions. Relena, for her part, thought her   
husband's devotion was the most adorable thing in the system, and let him get away   
with far too much in the way of slips of protocol.  
  
Duo and Hilde had also been married for quite a while. He'd finally popped the   
question last Christmas, much to the delight of Miss Schbeiker, and they had eloped   
on Christmas Eve, ever true to their impulsive natures. Duo still worked salvage, but   
had cut his hours short as of late to help Hilde with their twins, Solo and Olga,   
named after Duo's childhood friend, and Hilde's late mother. The two were quite a   
handful, and Duo loved telling the others long-winded stories of their exploits. He   
was a born father.  
  
Even Wufei had finally finished mourning the loss of his wife, Meiran, and had begun   
to notice Sally's affection for him. While Wufei wasn't one to rush into anything, he   
and Sally had been dating officially for the past month and a half. And, he seemed   
to genuinely like her. His callous attitude toward the "weakness" of women had   
softened considerably, and he had actually complimented her on her fighting ability   
without adding "…for a woman" to the end of the sentence, much to everyone's   
delight.  
  
Even those people he worked with but didn't know as well were with someone.   
Zechs had Noin. They hadn't gotten married yet, but everyone knew it was only a   
matter of time. Their unofficial but devoted relationship was the staple of Preventers   
gossip. And neither one of them did anything to discourage it. They simply smiled,   
glanced at each other knowingly, and continued about their business.  
  
Lady Une had decided the day Treize died that she would not fall in love with anyone   
else, but she was far from alone. She was raising Treize's orphaned daughter,   
Marie-Maiya, as if she were the girl's own mother. She was devoted to the child, as   
she had been to the girl's father. And, she was developing a friendship with Dorothy   
Catalonia, Treize's cousin. While the Lady did not have a lover, or even a passing   
fancy, she had family.  
  
Trowa let the stirrer slide from his fingers, slipping into the creamy liquid and   
disappearing beneath the surface. His features dropped slightly. He'd had a family   
too, up until two weeks ago. He'd had his beloved sister, and their "family" at the   
circus. And, he'd had Quatre, his best friend. The two were as close as brothers.   
But, since the engagement was announced, Catherine and Quatre had spent all of   
their free time together, planning, decorating, etc. Trowa tried his hardest to feel   
some sort of happiness for them, but, although he knew on some level he was   
genuinely happy for his sister and friend, he could not express anything beyond   
depressed indifference. He sighed again.  
  
"You okay, sir?" a woman's voice asked from beside him. Trowa blinked, focusing   
his thoughts back to the present, and turned his head to see who had spoken. A   
young woman stood beside his table, her fine platinum hair pulled back from her face   
into a thin braid. Her large silver eyes stared down at him, full of a concern that   
seemed odd for one to show a stranger. She was dressed in the light gray uniform   
of the waitresses of the coffee house.  
  
Trowa nodded, staring intently at the girl. He found that he could not take his eyes   
off of her. A thought was twisting at the back of his mind, working its way toward   
consciousness. She seemed so familiar….  
  
"You don't seem okay," she continued. "You looked very sad, actually. Do you want   
to talk?"  
  
"Talk?" Trowa echoed softly. The girl seemed to take this as an invitation, because   
she pulled out the opposite chair and swiveled herself gracefully into it. She leant   
forward slightly, the concern still apparent in her features. Trowa's gaze followed   
her the entire time. Her eyes, he decided, were exceedingly familiar. "Do I know   
you?" he asked her.  
  
The girl's features darkened for a brief moment, then relaxed into a more calm state.   
She nodded slowly. "We met long ago, when we were children. I wasn't sure if   
you'd remember me, but I recognized you as soon as you walked in. And you looked   
so sad, just like you did then, and I couldn't help coming over to talk to you."  
  
Trowa nodded slightly, trying to make sense of this story. A girl he knew a long time   
ago…. His eyes widened slightly, and he leant forward, his coffee forgotten in front   
of him. "Midii?" he asked.  
  
The woman nodded. "You remembered my name."  
  
"Of course I remember your name. I remember everything…." He trailed, off, his   
mind flashing back to the mercenary camp, and the young girl who had betrayed the   
group, but helped him to escape. "You saved me."  
  
She shook her head. "I betrayed you, and your friends. And, for that, I am   
eternally sorry. I didn't want to hurt anyone…."  
  
"But you did what you had to," Trowa finished for her. When her eyes widened, he   
continued. "I understand now. I've had to do things too, things that hurt many   
people, but were for the best, as I knew it. I don't hold any anger toward you,   
Midii."  
  
The girl sighed heavily, closing her eyes. "I cannot believe you can tell me that, but   
I am grateful. I don't know what I would have done if you were still angry at me.   
I…." She trailed off, blushing.  
  
Trowa placed a hand over hers. "You what?" he asked softly, his curious stare   
softening to a gaze.  
  
Midii opened her eyes as he touched her hand. "I love you." She blushed. "I know   
it sounds really silly, but I have been in love with you since I first met you. I never   
stopped loving you. You were the first person to be kind to me, and to take care of   
me. You were the last one for a long time after that to have been. When you yelled   
after me that you hated me, it almost broke my heart. But, I understood. It didn't   
stop me from loving you."  
  
"Midii…." Trowa stared into her silver eyes, unsure of what to do or say. She…loved   
him? She didn't even know his name, he remembered, because he hadn't had a   
name back then. She didn't know the first thing about who he was, who he had   
become. Yet, when he looked into her eyes, he could see that she was speaking the   
truth. "Midii…."  
  
She smiled faintly. "I don't expect a confession of love from you. I know this is a   
really big shock for you. I just want to be your friend, that's all, to get to know you.   
If that's okay with you."  
  
Trowa smiled, a genuine smile, and brushed his thumb across the back of her hand.   
"I'd like that," he said softly. "When are you free?"  
  
Midii smiled. "I got off work right before you sat down, actually. I hope you don't   
think badly of me that I spied on you."  
  
Trowa shook his head, rising. "Not at all." He offered his hand to her. "I'm Trowa   
Bloom. It's a pleasure to see you again, Midii."  
  
The girl smiled. "Trowa…." She tested the name. "It suits you." She took his hand,   
allowing him to help her to her feet. He offered his elbow, which she took with a   
smirk, and the two strode out into the dimming twilight.  



End file.
